Steven Timothy Judy: The White Lick Creek Murders
Background and Classification
Steven Timothy Judy was an American murderer whose name became associated with one of the most disturbing multiple homicides in Indiana history. Born on May 24, 1956, in Indianapolis, Judy displayed violent and sexually aggressive behavior from an early age. Although he is frequently described as a serial killer, he was convicted of four murders committed during a single criminal episode. Authorities also investigated claims that he had killed other people, but those alleged additional murders were never conclusively proven.
Judy grew up in a troubled and unstable household marked by neglect, alcohol abuse and violence. By the time he reached adolescence, he had already begun committing serious offenses. At approximately 13 years old, he entered a woman’s home after pretending to be a Boy Scout. He sexually assaulted her and attempted to kill her, striking and cutting her severely before fleeing. The victim survived. Judy was eventually committed to a psychiatric institution, where he was reportedly considered sexually dangerous.
After his release, Judy continued to engage in violent criminal behavior. His record included robbery, sexual assault and attacks in which women were restrained or left in isolated areas. These earlier crimes revealed a pattern of deception, domination and extreme violence that eventually culminated in the murders for which he was executed.
The Abduction of Terry Lee Chasteen and Her Children
On the morning of April 28, 1979, Terry Lee Chasteen was traveling with her three young children in the Indianapolis area. She was reportedly taking the children to a babysitter before going to work. Judy was driving a construction-style truck when he passed her vehicle on Interstate 465 and signaled that something appeared to be wrong with her car.
Believing Judy was attempting to help her, Chasteen pulled onto the side of the highway. Judy approached the vehicle and pretended to inspect it. According to testimony he later gave, he secretly removed the coil wire, intentionally making the car impossible to start. When Chasteen attempted to continue driving, the vehicle would not operate.
Judy then offered Chasteen and the children a ride. With her car disabled and three small children in her care, she accepted. Instead of taking the family to safety, Judy drove them into Morgan County and stopped near White Lick Creek, close to State Road 67 and Mooresville, Indiana.
The White Lick Creek Murders
After leaving the truck, Judy directed the family along a path leading toward the creek. He ordered the children to walk ahead while he remained behind with their mother. In the secluded area, Judy attacked and raped Terry Chasteen. He tore strips from her clothing and used the material to bind her hands and feet, gag her and cover her head.
Judy strangled Chasteen with strips of cloth. During the attack, her children reportedly returned after hearing her cries. Rather than abandoning the crime, Judy turned on the children. Five-year-old Misty, four-year-old Stephen and two-year-old Mark were taken into the creek and drowned. Medical evidence later established that the children died from asphyxia caused by drowning, while their mother died from strangulation.
The bodies were discovered later that morning. Hunters found Terry Chasteen in White Lick Creek at approximately 9:30 a.m. Police officers searched the surrounding water and wooded area and recovered the bodies of the three children. The scene revealed that the family had been deliberately transported to the isolated location and murdered.
Confirmed Victims
- Terry Lee Chasteen — Killed on April 28, 1979, near White Lick Creek in Morgan County, close to Mooresville, Indiana. She was abducted after Judy deliberately disabled her car, transported her to the creek, sexually assaulted her, bound her and strangled her.
- Misty Ann Zollers — Killed on April 28, 1979, at White Lick Creek in Morgan County, Indiana. Misty was five years old and died from drowning.
- Stephen Chasteen — Killed on April 28, 1979, at White Lick Creek in Morgan County, Indiana. Stephen was four years old and died from drowning.
- Mark Chasteen — Killed on April 28, 1979, at White Lick Creek in Morgan County, Indiana. Mark was two years old and died from drowning.
The Investigation and Arrest
Investigators began reconstructing the family’s movements and searching for anyone who had seen Chasteen’s disabled vehicle or the truck that stopped near it. Witnesses reported seeing a man in a work or construction vehicle assisting a woman and children beside the highway. Their descriptions helped direct suspicion toward Judy.
Physical evidence also connected him to the crime scene. A coat recovered near the bodies contained biological evidence consistent with Judy’s blood characteristics. Investigators examined his vehicle and questioned him about his whereabouts. Faced with witness statements and physical evidence, Judy eventually admitted responsibility.
His own account revealed that the apparent roadside assistance had been a planned deception. He acknowledged signaling Chasteen to stop, removing the coil wire and offering the family a ride after the car failed to restart. Judy also described taking them to the creek and committing the attacks.
Trial and Conviction
Judy was charged with four counts of murder. During his trial, he entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. Mental-health experts examined his history, personality and ability to understand his actions. Although his behavior was regarded as severely abnormal and sadistic, the prosecution maintained that he understood the nature and consequences of the crimes.
Judy testified during the proceedings and described his role in the abduction, rape and killings. The prosecution presented his admissions, the physical evidence and the testimony of witnesses who had observed events surrounding the roadside encounter. A Morgan County jury rejected the insanity defense and found him guilty of murdering Chasteen and all three children.
On February 25, 1980, Judy was sentenced to death on the four murder convictions. He initially permitted attorneys to begin an appeal but later demanded that the legal challenges be stopped. Courts examined whether he was mentally competent to waive further appeals and concluded that he understood the consequences of his decision.
Claims of Additional Murders
Judy claimed at different times that he had committed additional killings. Reports have stated that he confessed to as many as seven murders and was suspected in other unsolved cases. However, investigators were unable to verify most of these statements, and no additional murder convictions resulted.
One case repeatedly associated with Judy was the killing of 20-year-old Indiana University student Ann Harmeier. Harmeier disappeared on September 12, 1977, after experiencing car trouble on State Road 37 near Martinsville, Indiana. Her body was discovered approximately five weeks later in a cornfield. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
The circumstances attracted attention because Harmeier and Chasteen were both vulnerable motorists encountered along Indiana highways. Both were taken to isolated locations, sexually assaulted and strangled. Judy was familiar with the region and had a history of attacking stranded or isolated women. Despite the similarities, he denied killing Harmeier, and investigators never obtained enough evidence to charge him. Her murder remains separate from Judy’s four confirmed victims.
Execution
Steven Timothy Judy was executed in the electric chair at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City shortly after midnight on March 9, 1981. He was 24 years old. His execution was Indiana’s first since 1961 and became a major event in the state’s legal history following the reinstatement of capital punishment.
Judy had resisted efforts by attorneys and death-penalty opponents to prolong his appeals. He repeatedly stated that he wanted the sentence carried out. His execution occurred less than two years after the murders and only slightly more than one year after he received his death sentence.
Legacy of the Case
The murders of Terry Lee Chasteen, Misty Ann Zollers, Stephen Chasteen and Mark Chasteen remain remembered for the calculated way Judy created the family’s vulnerability. He did not encounter them by accident and suddenly become violent. He used a false warning about their car, intentionally disabled it and presented himself as a helpful stranger before transporting them to an isolated killing site.
The case also demonstrated the danger Judy posed long before the 1979 murders. His juvenile sexual assault, later attacks and repeated use of restraint and deception showed an escalating pattern. Questions about whether he committed additional killings have never been completely resolved, but only the four White Lick Creek murders were legally established as his crimes.
Although Judy’s execution brought the criminal proceedings to an end, it did not erase the suffering caused by the loss of an entire young family. The names of Terry, Misty, Stephen and Mark remain central to the case, while Judy is remembered as the man who exploited an ordinary roadside problem to carry out four deliberate and devastating murders.
